Hormel Numbers Down for Quarter, Up for Year

Dec. 1, 2022
Good management overcomes the effect of avian flu on turkey flocks.

Stung by avian flu and other factors, Hormel Foods experienced declines in sales and profit for the most recent quarter compared with last year – but its yearly numbers went up.

Sales for the quarter ending Oct. 30 were $3.28 billion, down 5% from the same quarter last year, and net earnings came to $279.9 million, down 0.6% year-over-year. However, for the entire fiscal year, sales came to $12.5 billion, up 9.4% from last year, and net earnings were $1 billion, up 10%.

Due to an outbreak of avian flu that affected Hormel’s turkey stocks, net sales for Jennie-O Turkey Store products in the fourth quarter were down 15%. However, profit in that segment jumped 149%, which a company statement attributed to “higher commodity prices and improved value-added mix.” CEO Jim Snee said in that statement, “Segment profit growth was due to the Jennie-O Turkey Store segment, as the team effectively managed limited turkey supply and maximized operational performance.”

The Refrigerated Foods segment, Hormel’s largest in sales, saw a 19% drop in quarterly volume and a 15% decline in profit, to $167.4 million year-over-year. The company statement attributed this to “lower commodity sales resulting from the company's new pork supply agreement.”

About the Author

Pan Demetrakakes | Senior Editor

Pan has written about the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years. His areas of coverage have included formulations, processing, packaging, marketing and retailing. Pan worked for Food Processing Magazine for six years in the 1990s, where he was operations editor (his current role), touring dozens of food plants of every description. He has also worked for Packaging and Food & Beverage Packaging magazines, the latter as chief editor, during which he won three ASBPE awards. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in communications.

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